Spartacus 3.7 Review, "Mors Indecepta"
rating: 2.5
This episode was a mess. Sometimes that was good because it was displaying the frantic nature of Spartacus plans but most it was bad because the episode itself just looked rushed. This episode was not terrible, but it is one of my least favorite this season because of its rushed aspect and the fact that many of the problems I praised episode 5 for fixing, came back in this episode. Winter has come to Spartacus. In whatever time span we had between last episode and this one, both the Romans and rebels are surrounded by chill and heavy snow. In the rebel camp, this becomes a problem as his many rebels try and fail to keep warm and by the end of the episode thousands have died. I didnt think the snow added much to the plot. The howling wind made it hard to hear the dialogue, and the dire nature of the cold temperature was undone by the fact that Crixus still walks around mostly naked. All this winter storm plot did was make it harder to see and hear. Though they seemed to mend their differences at the end of episode 5, Spartacus and Crixus are back at each others throats, arguing about tactics and this time breaking out into a brutal fight. I am of two minds about this. I dont like the way this plot line is written. Crixus is coming off as petty and foolish and I think hes acting very out of character. However, the effect of this plot line is very good. I love seeing Spartacus army fracture right at the center, I love the drama surrounding them and I adored the fight scene they had. I just wish it was written in a way that seemed more in character. Other than this plot and Spartacus many war tactics, all the rebel story lines are rushed. Crixus is out of commission for most of the episode, as is Naevia, Castus joins the inner circle of Spartacus fighters after Agron acts jealous and Nasir pleads his case and Gannicus takes a brief detour and undoes most of the positive feelings about him I had after last weeks episode. Gannicus and Sibyl find themselves in close quarters once again as he rescues her and loses his way during a storm but just so happens to find shelter to keep them both alive. Freezing and injured, Sibyl attempts to seduce him as is successful, leading Gannicus to strip her almost nude during a snowstorm. This scene really bothered me. I loved the interaction and relationship between Gannicus and Sibyl last week but I hated how they added a sexual aspect this episode. Sibyl is portrayed as very young and naive, something Gannicus himself admits in earlier episodes making this sex scene come off vaguely creepy. I really wished their relationship could have remained sexless with Gannicus acting as protector and friend and nothing more. Gannicus and Saxas relationship is something I thought was brilliant and I was really sad to see it apparently end because of this reason.
The majority of this episode was Roman centered, which probably lead to the hasty, incomplete rebel story lines. Crassus has taken the city and like Spartacus, is attempting to outdo the other with clever war tactics. I am loving the duality between Crassus and Spartacus. Crassus is a worthy opponent and the cleverness present in him as well as the similarities between Spartacus and himself make for a fascinating dynamic. The Roman plot lines have become very intertwined, leaving it impossible to separate one from the other as all of them interact. Kore especially helps this along as she had scenes with the other three major Roman players. It is nice to see her having a larger part to play. She never shone in previous episodes when she was only with scenes with either Crassus or Tiberius but this episode she had a much more pivotal role and Im curious to see how her sudden incognito presence in the slave camp will play out, whether she has switched sides or tries to destroy them from within. Caesar is sort of coming into his own. He shows potential as a character now, even if he is still lacking. This episode gave me hope that by the end of the series, he could be a brilliant character worthy of his own leading performance. Tiberius continues to be terrible and in doing so, very good. He is so hatable as a character that watching his scenes, the viewer is utterly engaged even if he is such a despicable character. Tiberius is not the deadliest or most brutal villain this series but he is probably the most dislikable of all Spartacus villains as he remains written so brilliantly and acts so terribly. The best part of this episode was Spartacus and Crassus trying to outdo and outthink each other in terms of war tactics. This brilliance was weighed down by the attempt this week to simultaneously focus on character development and more personal plot lines. This episode would have benefited from either one or the other as the decision to try to do both turned this episode into something not nearly as good as it could have been.